Yep, Croshere showed up and if he plays like that once a week, and his back holds up, the Warriors are a vastly improved team.

Big if. But a huge thing.

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-If Croshere had been healthy and/or played like this once a week, there would’ve been no need or thought to sign that other aging power forward… I forget his name…

-Brandan Wright got the start, did OK, played 9 minutes, didn’t play in the second half, registered a plus/minus total of -5. (Croshere took his spot in the third quarter, had a +10.)

But that block by Wright at the apex of Kevin Durant’s little jumper in the lane? Wow. The Warriors haven’t had a guy who could do that since… I am going to have to think a while on this one… Maybe Donyell Marshall.

-Ellis with another quiet, obvious, star-like 30-point performance. The guy is for real. If you don’t have two or three defenders ready to clamp him–and they’d better be good ones–Ellis is going to go for 30.

That’s an NBA star. Now about Ellis’ defense…

-Baron Davis, career-high tying 7 steals and a game-best +19. You knew he’d be ready for Luke Ridnour. When Baron wants to bring the D, it’s right there. But he doesn’t always bring it, of course.

-The Sonics are awful. Why was this a game for two-plus quarters? Worst Stephen Jackson game in a looong time. He had missed a few games, so it was sort of explainable, still awful.

Also: Al Harrington, who, as Don Nelson pointed out, had no such excuse, missed his first 7 shots.

-Will Mickael Pietrus get on a good game/bad game roll? Good game against Boston. Bad game against Atlanta. Pretty good game tonight–5 for 10 shooting, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 11 points in 25 minutes.

-Yikes: About that Webber Guy. He was a neutral on the plus/minus, but that might’ve been his worst game yet.

Nellie didn’t start Webber and then silently acknowledged the horrors of Webber’s performance as a reserve in the first half by, once again, yanking him for the second half of this one.

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Really, I don’t think even Webber expected to go back in the game after his first-half stint.

I’m going to be nice and give him only a -1 on the Webber Meter. Which makes it a combined -6, with -10 being the mark for a Webber Debacle.

He can’t play against Phoenix. Can’t play against Seattle. Can’t play against Atlanta. Croshere gave better minutes in a single quarter than Webber has given in 7 games combined. Wright was better.

Everybody’s better.

Umm, once again, tell me why Webber should ever play for a playoff-caliber team like the Warriors again?
Onto the Q & A’s…

——DON NELSON post-game Q & A/

–Opening statement: Well, Croshere to the rescue. I thought it was Cro’s best game of the year and he was a factor for the first time in quite a while and helped us win this game.

And I sure was searching. Didn’t seem like it was going to be easy. Had a lot of guys that had off-games and we just had to find a way to win it. And Cro was the guy.

-Q: What caused you to play him to start the second half?

-NELSON: I liked the way he was playing when I subbed him in the first half. I liked the momentum of the team. We just really struggled to do very much right early. Our spacing wasn’t good, our ball movement wasn’t crisp. And when he was in the game, all those things all of a sudden started to solidify themselves.

I asked the coaches what they thought and they agreed with me, that the team ran well when he was in the game. That’s the reason I started him.

-Q: Was Croshere showing you that in practice?

-NELSON: Actually, he hasn’t played well in games. I haven’t played him a lot. I haven’t been able to. Seems like the score’s going the wrong way when I’ve played him in games of late.

We’ve been waiting since he came back from the back injury for him to be a factor and to get on the floor some. And every time I’ve tried him, it hasn’t worked out very well. He had some very poor practices when he first came up, he couldn’t find his shot…

We’ve been waiting a long time for him to be a factor. And hopefully now he can start being more consistent and start being on the floor some. He’s not in great shape to play, you know, 25 minutes a game. But I did play him 22, didn’t I?

-Q: Your defense in the third quarter–you forced turnovers, held them to 17 points… was that Baron really giving the effort?

-NELSON: Well, Baron tied a career high seven steals in the game. We did have our most productive quarter, deflection-wise and steal-wise and that’s usually a good sign for us.

-Q: Was Jackson just out of sorts tonight?

-NELSON: Yeah, come back after not playing five, six days, whatever it was. Everybody has kind of that game back, if you will. Boy it was a disaster for a long time. It was hard to stay with him for too long.

Al had the same game, but didn’t have the same reason. I don’t understand that sometimes. He goes through stretches where he just can’t seem to get involved or make a shot. He was having one of those games, too.

So I’m really pleased to win this game and having two or three players who played one of their poorest games of the season for us.

-Q: How would you evaluate Wright, getting the start?

-NELSON: I thought he was OK. Any player, but young ones for sure… He ran like a deer the last game I played him. And had great stamina. And I thought, wow, that guy’s been really hard in practice to have that kind of stamina in the game.

I put him in the game tonight and he forgot to run. How do you forget to run? That’s one of his strengths. To me, he was coasting back, he wasn’t the first guy back, he didn’t play with the same running expertise as he did the game before, and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to play him.

I thought he did OK, other than that. He was fine. But he can’t run with his man. He’s got to be the first man back and anchor our defense.

He had the one nice blocked shot. He has to be a factor that way. He’s another guy that needs to have a strength that he goes to. We’re trying to make that the screen-and-roll and we got him one basket off of that.

I think the more he plays, the more the guys get used to him, we can throw the lob to him on screen-and-rolls, along with the bounce pass, and he’s got great hands as well. He’ll be fine.

-Q: If Wright’s playing, if Croshere’s playing well, when Biedrins gets back… Is there a role for Webber? Could he not play?

-NELSON: It was a hard game to play against Seattle because they’ve changed from… a slower-paced game to a faster-paced game. They’re playing like we play now. I just didn’t think that it was a good game, because it was going to be an up-and-down game, so I wanted to be careful with that.

There’s a definitely a role for Webber, yes.

-Q: So is he back in the starting line-up?

-NELSON: It depends on the team and the situation. I would think against Philly that he’ll be able to play there. I think I have to be more selective and be a little more careful with his matchups and stuff like that, for him to get the best out of his game.

—-BRANDAN WRIGHT, post-game Q & A/

-Q: How did you feel you did in your second start?

-WRIGHT: I feel I did all right. There’s a lot of things I’d definitely like to improve on. I played a little sloppy. But the biggest thing is that win and to keep moving up those standings.

-Q: You bobbled the first screen-roll, but it definitely looked like that could be there for you. Do you feel comfortable on the screen-roll?

-WRIGHT: Oh definitely, man. I just took my eyes off the ball trying to go up so fast on that play. That’s definitely one of the things I can do. Should be more to come.

-Q: Nelson said he was surprised that you didn’t run as much this game. Did you recognize that?

-WRIGHT: I honestly didn’t recognize it, really.

-Q: He just wants you to run 94 feet faster than everybody every time…

-WRIGHT: That’s what he wants. That’s what I have to do to play on this team. Run the floor, get down there, be ready to set some screens.

-Q: Can you talk about meeting Durant at the top of his jump near the rim and blocking the shot?

-WRIGHT: He was coming to the basket. I was going to contest it. I was going to protect the rim. It was either going to be a block, foul, basket or an altercation.

Those are the types of things you have to do. You have to protect the rim.

-Q: You comfortable being the last line of defense?

-WRIGHT: Yeah, just go for everything. Even if you don’t block the shot, you can alter it. Even at the free-throw line, guy’s shooting jump shots, you fly out at him, it’s going to mess him up just because of my length.

-Q: You, Andris, Monta, Marco… there’s a lot of young guys on this team. Do you get a sense of what’s coming here?

-WRIGHT: Yeah, there are so many young guys on the team. We’ve got a bright future ahead of us. But we’ve just got to work hard and we’ll be all right.

-Q: You had Petro right off the bat, really big guy. Is that a tough match-up for you–the bigger guys?

-WRIGHT: It’s all about your positioning. If you have perfect technique, it’s hard for anybody to score. Sometimes it can be a tough matchup, but it’s about technique. Feet in position, being able to poke away the ball, doing what you have to do to keep the man from getting into the paint.

It’s all about learning the game, getting more reps. You get out on the game, you learn how to do things.

-Q: Do you learn more in a game or in practice?

-WRIGHT: You can learn a lot in practice. But nothing can simulate the game speed, the way the game is played, going up against players that are definitely trying to defeat you.

——DON NELSON, pre-game Q & A/

-Q: Do you have a plan tonight for Brandan Wright, or is it a feel thing with him?

-NELSON: Yep, see how the team’s doing, see how he’s doing. See the match-up, could be a problem for him. Like I do for most all my players.

But I think a young player, I’m a little more careful with.

-Q: A match-up problem dealing with Seattle’s size?

-NELSON: Yeah, size.

-Q: So would a smaller guy be the more favorable matchup for Wright?

-NELSON: He’s probably a 4 in a 3 body right now. And I think as you watch him develop over the years, he’ll be putting on weight in the right areas and probably end up weighing 225, 230 someday. Just got to let it happen naturally, with the gift of the weight room and all the great guys we have that work that room.

We don’t overdo weights, because I don’t really like bulky players. I like thin, strong players. But his frame I think is naturally going to put on weight.

-Q: Could he defend Durant?

-NELSON: Well, we’ve been switching some in practice and see if he can keep the guards in front of him. And he does as good a job as anybody that I have of keeping guys in front of him.

It’s quite an asset for us to switch certain screen and roll situations, especially with a 4. Can’t do that with Monta, but when Baron’s guarding a screen-and-roll guy, for example, if you’re able to switch out and you’re able to keep the guard in front of you, as a 4, that’s quite an advantage.

-Q: Monta is taking off offensively, but where is he defensively right now?

-NELSON: He has confidence in his defense, but he hasn’t shown it much the last few weeks. I’ve got a bit of a thorn in his side, letting him know he’s got to do a better job in that area. I’m not not going to play him if he doesn’t–I’ve got to play my good players.

But it would sure help us out if he could keep guys in front of him and do a better job there. I think the effort’s going to be there. It’s just going to be whether he’s strong enough.

Again, the screen-and-roll is his nemesis.

-Q: Do you want to him to go over the screen?

-NELSON: We handle it a variety of ways… The bottom line is that he’s got to basically stay with his own guy. There’s no switch with him, because it’s too big of a mismatch.

-Q: He gets picked a lot, doesn’t he?

-NELSON: That’s been the hardest thing for him, the penetration off the screen-and-roll.

-Q: You’ve had slow starts with your veterans–does it make sense to start Brandan since you’ve been so slow starting?

-NELSON: They can get better. Sometimes one group starts well and then all of a sudden they don’t. And it’s not always the extra guy that takes the start…

Often times it’s my best three players who have a slow start and they drag the other poor guy with them. Of course, who do I sub? The other poor guy. I’m not blaming him, but sometimes the coach has to do something.

-Q: Any consideration to get Patrick O’Bryant out there with Biedrins out?

-NELSON: Sure, he’s a member of the team. I know he’s down there.

-Q: Where is Patrick at in his development?

-NELSON: I don’t see enough in practice that I’m confident enough to play him in games. So that’s where he is.

-Q: Could O’Bryant be on this team next year?

-NELSON: Yeah, I would say so. He’s a free agent. So we’ll be one of 30 bidders in the free agent market. He’ll be on our board.

-Q: What isn’t he doing?

-NELSON: What you’re looking for in a player, especially a player who’s coming off the bench, is a consistency in his game. Something he brings to the table that you can hang your hat on.

Is he a shot-blocker, is he a rebounder, is he a good defender, is he a scorer? What is it he brings to the party and what is his strength? And there isn’t a strength there, as yet.

It’s kind of all over the map. He passes a little bit, rebounds sometimes, sometimes he’ll block a shot. But there’s no consistency there. So I never know what he’s going to do in a game or in a practice. That’s what he’s got to work on.

-Q: So you’ve seen some things in Brandan?

-NELSON: Absolutely, yeah. He’s developed in the right way. And I think Belinelli has, too, although we’ve always known what his strength.

He’s worked really hard on his defense and he’s come along. I don’t think developed quite as well as Brandan yet, but he’s also grown pretty nicely this season in our practice sessions.

-Q: Is Kosta Perovic in the discussion?

-NELSON: I’m not sure that he’s not. He does have some things that he does well enough. So I think I have a better idea what his game is. And he can hang his hat on a couple of things. There’s more consistency there in what he does or doesn’t do.

-Q: Is Perovic ahead of O’Bryant?

-NELSON: It’s pretty close right now.

Tim Kawakami

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I was going to suggest that the Warriors sign recently cut Center Jamaal Magloire and dump Webber, but just read that Dallas signed him this evening. Not that the Warriors would it anyway, admitting that the Webber signing was a mistake. My hope for the future: more Wright, more Croshere, less Webber.

Dennis

Webber is washed up,always was overated.Hey Webber call time out for the last time. Dennis

GoldenBuddha

let’s see how the first quarter goes…13-4 run…did you notice that Tim?

Nate

Lighten up on Webber – they’re paying him nothing, what’s the big deal – you’re writing that he shouldn’t be a part of the team, but your giving him more press than any other member of the team. STOP WRITING ABOUT HIM. He was even in the title of this blog for crapes sakes.

CO_GSW_fan

Thanks for the Q&A. More than any blog, these help us fans get into the minds of the coaches and players a lot more.

bad game by Webber last night, just like every other warriors except monta/CJ/Pietrus/Croshere probably due to the long lay off

but it’s not like he gave up more layups when he’s playing than when he’s not playing. at least when he plays, he grabs us some rebounds, gives us some blocks and steals, makes some awesome passes and outlets, and simply making smart veteran plays on both ends of the floor(the anti-Pietrus/Barnes, if I will)

Laughing out Loud

Dude, Nelson made Webber bigger than the rest of the team by naming him a starter when he was signed and telling everyone that would listen that he was BETTER than everyone on the bench and would be a STARTER.

Last night Croshere and even a pretty weak showing by BWright were both superior to CWebb.

Mano de Nada

We’re kinda hoping at this point that CobWebb throws a tantrum and leaves (again).

D-Man

Webber has the ability to be a starter no doubt, last night wasnt a great game for him but noone else really played spectacular. THese days off between games i think is why we get off to such slow starts..
CWebb has the ability to make other players better with is percision passing and vet-smarts so all this Webber-Washedup-Overated crap is for the birds.

MikeM

At least they didn’t go clubbing and then lose by 21 in Miami, like some other Northern California NBA team did…

I’m pretty much ready to declare the Webber experiment over. But, again, I have to point out that they didn’t give up a thing to get him. I think he just never really recovered from blowing out his knee in the series the Kings eventually lost to the Mavericks a few years ago. It’s too bad, really, because with his size and his hands, he could still be productive.

I’m pretty much writing an obituary for Webber’s career. I think he’s finished. At least he’ll have great stories to tell his grandkids.

Mike

O’bryant and Perovic can give anything Webber offers the Warriors, and some…

Everytime O’bryant was in the game earlier in the season, he was productive. If he didn’t score, he changed shots, rebounded, etc. Even Perovic looked good in Milwaukee.

Nelson needs to realize some guys play better in games than in practice.

jsl

Good coverage, Tim, especially re the post-game interviews. Thanks.

Key point for me: Goose is even a bigger piece to this Warrior puzzle than I’d thought. He’s the only guy who plays defense down low (maybe Croshere does a bit, too) and in the two games AB’s been out we’ve shown NO low post D. I’d never have thought any team — let alone the Sonics — could get 30 of 32 Q1 points in the paint.

Get well, Goose. We need you back — badly and SOON.

Jaysohn

I know Nellie is stubborn but really could POB be any worse than Webber, especially defensively. Webber was slow last year and even worse now with that piano on his back. My daughter could get by him on a screen for a layup. He just kills any concept of team defense. I can’t understand why POB was inactive especially with Beidrins out. If nothing else he has length to protect the rim. Why not give him spot minutes. With the perimeter defense predicated on taking risks for steals the guards allow for a lot of dribble penetration creating a huge need for if not a shot blocking presence at least a shot changing one. Finally Croshere got some minutes last night. I know he has been hurt off and on but once again Nellie can’t find him spot minutes? He provides a much more physical and legit presence at the 4 or 5 then anyone else. He is a solid all around player who does the little things that don’t show up in the box score. In this game he also did the big things that do. I would definitely prefer to see him get more minutes over Barnes, Pietrus and Webber.

Big Sky

I liked what I saw in Webber last night. fumbled a couple of tough passes, got a lesson in outlet passing, and had a nice block and a couple of rebounds dubs don’t normally get with the massive Petro on him. you can tell he is getting into better shape and the look in his eye had a “want to” and “need to.” the team had that look from the last couple of minutes in the second half. I am glad Nelson didn’t start Webber and should make him earn it from here on out. You don’t make the other guys work for it, then give the fat kid the cupcake.

Tim, what team in the league has more athletic ability coupled with Basketball I.Q.?? the 3rd qtr. was great T.V.

Mano de Nada

POB looked lost in the NBDL most of the time. Just saying…

pete

Kosta would do better than POB in there. We only got a glimpse of him in milwauke. He had 4 pts and 4rebs for a short period of time.

JLee

I still think Webber was a good signing. We didn’t have to trade anyone in our young core (only releasing the injured Troy Hudson to get him) and we didn’t sign him to a lucrative contract. He was a low-risk, high reward signing. SO far, it just hasn’t worked.

The only thing that concerns me is Nelson’s willingness to use Webber when his play doesn’t even warrant putting him out there during garbage time. He has such a long leash on Webber. I can’t think of one good thing Webber did last night. He threw the outlet pass right to Durant for a dunk, and he stood there in the lane while Durant blew past Monta for another easy two as if Webber’s feet were cemented in place. If that was POB or Wright, they would have been immediately benched and probably wouldn’t sniff another minute of PT for at least a few weeks.

Garlicboy

Tim,
Did Webber sleep with your sister or something? Why do you have such a personal vendetta against Webber? Did he refuse an interview with you? Just let it go already. Webber was even in his +/- but you give him a -1 in your rating. Brandan Wright was -5 and getting worked by the unstoppable…Johan Petro? Webber played 7 minutes in the game but 90% of your article speaks about Webber. He’s old and he sucks against running team, no defense, this is old news, tell us something we don’t know.

Wright should have dominated against the lowly Sonics. They have the worst front line in the West, and Wright plays sub-par. He’ll have his time, but he’s just a little too raw and light for my taste. He gets dominated by Boozer, Duncan, Martin/Camby, Dirk, or Amare if he plays like he did last night. These are the guys Wright will have to guard in the future, night in night out.

I agree with CO_GSW_FAN, the best part of the write up is the Q and A section.

Anyone who has any understanding of BB (obviously, most of you are overweight pizza eaters who couldn’t play as a kid) would realize Tim doesn’t have a personal vendetta against Webber, nor does it matter if they aren’t paying him nothing, nor does one “precision” pass a game and some long rebounds a point guard could get to make him anything more than he is…A distinct liability on the court that impacts the playing chemistry of the team…the best way Webber helps this team now is to take the money and go find a quiet beach somewhere and rest his weary bones.

Soem

Webber got some -welccome to the team- starts. CJ got a lot of run initially.

Evaluate Webber after Ws play Utah, Spurs, Lakers a few more times. (Or if by some miracle, an East coast team in the Finals).

Dubs don’t get by any of those power teams without a Webber-like player.

I’m still much more ready to wait and see. After all, Don Nelson controls if Webber gets on the court and against what teams. Given that and he is cheap financially, I don’t get the constant hysteria and snipeing directed toward Webber. Nobody on the team plays perfect games, nobody. Give it a rest already 🙂

Recovering Webaholic

Garlicboy, +- for one game is just about meaningless. You need a half season of data just to even think about believing it, and two seasons worth (with lots of minutes played) to really trust it.

Webber stunk. It was a pitiful performance. The idea that he is going to help us against the Jazz or Spurs or anyone else is ridiculous if he continues to play this way.

Sadly, I think he will.

Gary

I’m in Costa Rica vacationing and missed the game.

The future is BW, Monte, and Beans.

Enough said. The rest of these guys are up and down. They basically can’t go all the way. If this were college ball, they’d make it to the Sweet Sixteen.

Simple as that. Take that from a guy who idolized Rick Barry back in ’75, and knows what it takes to win.

JustPuked

I’ve been in the Webber is a dump camp all along but even I can admit Webber looked good tonight against Philly. It could be he just got up to play his old team or…he could be finally getting into shape. I’m not holding my breath but for at least one game Webber is getting a +1. Tim, you’ve been all over him when he stunk it up (and man has he ever) will you give him props when he steps up?

The better story is of course Brandan Wright. Man that kid just radiates talent. And Pietus, if only he played like that all the time…